Evans’ co-driver hospitalised after high-speed roll
Elfyn Evans has been forced to pull out of Rally Mexico after co-driver Daniel Barritt was taken to hospital with a suspected concussion as a result of a high-speed roll in the morning loop.
Elfyn Evans, Daniel Barritt, M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC
M-Sport
Evans was running third when he hit a bank in sixth gear, eventually pitching the Ford Fiesta WRC into a series of rolls.
M-Sport team boss Malcolm Wilson confirmed the pair's withdrawal from the event on safety grounds.
“The problem right now is with Dan, we've had to take him to hospital with concussion. He definitely won't be continuing this afternoon,” Wilson said.
“The guys can definitely fix the car but unfortunately we can't continue because of Dan's situation, we can't take the risk.
“It's a bit confusing at the minute because it was very high speed, [Elfyn] managed to control the car after the bumps, then he went wide on the next corner and he hit a bank.
“Looking at the TV it's very difficult to see if he rolls or not, but there is extensive damage to the left hand side and quite a lot of suspension damage as well so it has taken a huge impact.”
Evans vacated the car straight away but later managed to drive it through SS5 (Street Stage Leon) and Service for repairs.
“To be honest, I couldn't believe how little damage there was on the car after what happened," explained Evans.
“We hit a row of bumps and they were a lot worse than expected, and then I lost control of the rear of the car, unfortunately still in sixth gear and I didn't have enough power to pull me out of the slide.
“We clipped a bank on the inside and it went over I don't know how many times.”
Story by Stephen Brunsdon
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